Over the first half of 2013, SarahPAC took in $460,000, but spent more than $495,000. Despite its stated purpose of supporting like-minded candidates, it donated to only one—giving $5,000 to Jason Smith, a conservative Republican backed by the NRA and pro-life groups who won a special election in Missouri’s Eighth Congressional District in June by a margin of 67–27.

In contrast, the group spent almost $484,000 on fundraising, research, speechwriting, and high-end travel. This is a comedown from the 2012 cycle, whenSarahPAC raised eyebrows for spending more than $4.8 million on consultants while doling out $298,500 to candidates.

The people funding Sarah Palin’s lifestyle and entourage were primarily small donors. Keep in mind that the Federal Election Commission requires only that campaigns and political groups report the names of those who give more than $200 in what are known as itemized donations. Small donors, of less than $200, are grouped together in un-itemized donations. Over 75 percent of SarahPAC’s donations—$341,556 out of a total of $446,880—were un-itemized. And the solicitations for small donors helped line the pockets of the consultants in charge of the effort. In fact, SarahPAC’s biggest operating expenditure was spending $87,148 on direct-mail firm HSP Direct, on fundraising.

The Daily Beast reached out to a number of SarahPAC contributors to ask how they felt about their hard-earned money being spent primarily on consultants. “I trust her judgment and her record,” said Ronald Shuster of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, who gave $2,013 to the group. Sandra Dyberg of Vacaville, California, who gave $201.60 to SarahPAC, said she felt confident in Palin’s hiring decisions. “The consultants that she uses are good consultants,” she said. “I’ve done research on them.” No doubt.

Other donors were slightly more skeptical. Steve Auvil of Macungie, Pennsylvania, who donated $250, said this kind of consultant-class largesse was par for the course: “Come on, get real. How much of the DNC’s money goes to consultants?”

But SarahPAC seems to be especially focused on paying its consultants, even by contemporary standards.